With so much to unpack and appreciate in the immediate aftermath of Todd Gurley’s 54-yard touchdown catch against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, it was useless trying to pick out a starting point, let alone identify who or what was most responsible for Gurley taking it to the house.

The pull block that left guard Rodger Saffold made to kick out the defensive end running free toward Jared Goff was critical. Gurley casually floating out of the backfield then turning on the burners to split two defenders on a seam route down the field was a thing of beauty. And Goff delivering a perfect throw to Gurley, in stride, to allow him to corral the ball at top speed and never let up on his way to the end zone is exactly why Sean McVay recently added the play to his growing playbook in the first place.

“You kinda perk up a bit because you know it’s a good one,” is how Goff described his reaction when McVay dialed the play up on Sunday.

But as Rams wide receiver Robert Woods watched it all unfold after pulling his defender with him on an up-and-out pattern a few yards ahead of Gurley, he knew exactly who to congratulate.

And who he chose to acknowledge first speaks to the dramatic overhaul the Rams made at wide receiver from last year to this year, the versatile, multi-faceted skill set they’ve created as a result, McVay’s insistence on players taking ownership of their position rooms and his uncanny ability to take individual strengths and mesh them in a way that benefits the collective good.

“I ran straight over to Josh first,” said Woods, smiling proudly just remembering the moment.

Josh would be rookie wide receiver Josh Reynolds, who, at the very moment Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis was closing in on Gurley at the 20-yard-line, delivered a picture-perfect crackback block on Lewis to send him sprawling to the turf and spring Gurley free to the end zone.

Woods, the leader of the Rams’ close-knit wide receiver room, refused to let the moment pass without proper recognition.

“I didn’t even run to Todd. I ran straight to Josh,” Woods remembered:

“’Hey man, you just set up that play,’” Woods told Reynolds. “Of course, it was ultimately Todd’s touchdown, he created it. But when you see plays like that, other players setting up plays by knowing their roles and executing them, people might not always see it or appreciate it. But we see it and acknowledge it and praise it.”

And that’s becoming a pretty common thing among the Rams’ wide receivers, a unit that’s emerged as one of the deepest, most versatile groups in the league with the addition of Woods, Reynolds, Sammy Watkins and Cooper Kupp, and the clever way McVay utilizes them while also figuring out ways to weave holdovers Tavon Austin and Pharoh Cooper – and this week Mike Thomas – into the game plan.

“We do have some talented guys out there,” Goff said. “What makes them so special, though, is their daily effort and work ethic. They come in every day and want to get better. They all want to improve and want to help the team in any way possible, and just their unselfishness has been really impressive and a lot of fun to work with so far.”

The Rams’ wide receivers might not be the best overall group in the NFL, but you’d have to look long and hard to find one that has every base covered in the way the Rams do.

“We feel confident that wherever the ball goes, guys can make those plays, and that’s a nice luxury to be able to have with the variety of skill players we have,” McVay said.

Through four games, Goff has connected with eight different receivers three times. That includes Austin and tight ends Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee and Gurley, who McVay has injected into the passing game and leads the Rams with 20 catches for 224 yards.

In all, 11 different Rams have receptions this year.

“Anytime you’ve got a collection like we do, it’s almost like your basketball roster – you want to have a nice, fluid rotation, keep those guys fresh,” Rams offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur said. “And then it really inhibits the defense’s ability to really lock onto one guy and take them out of the game.”

The spread-the-ball-out mentality is a product of Goff’s ability to see the field and how well the offensive line is protecting him this year. And the scheme and play calling of McVay.

“It really is credit to Coach McVay,” Woods said. “We got a lot of weapons. A lot of different kinds of guys, and he knows how to use us. He puts us in position to make plays and to keep the defense guessing. They don’t know what we’ll do next.

“I mean, you got Todd Gurley running seam routes now. And Tavon is lined up in the backfield. You never know what you’re gonna get. Who knows what’s coming with this offense.”

Neither do the Rams, sometimes.

“We’ll see a new play in a meeting and we’re all like, ‘Dang, we already know it’s going to be open because of stuff we’ve already run,’” Woods said. “The creative mind he has, it’s just great. He keeps this offense explosive. He keeps all of us into it. He finds ways to keep everyone involved.”

But it’s also a testament to how versatile and varied the Rams wide receivers are now, and the trust they’ve already established with Goff.

“We never want to depend on just one player,” Kupp said. “We did a good job with continuing to move the ball. It’s a testament to Jared, the receiving room and to (wide receivers) coach Eric Yarber and all of those guys. When you step on the field, you have to be ready to go.”

Woods, the former USC standout, says it’s the most versatile wide receivers group he’s been a part of.

“We got close in Buffalo when we got Percy Harvin, but not like this,” he said. “This team is completely stacked. We’ve got speed. Speed and power. Quickness. It’s really a complete room.”

For long-suffering Rams fans, that represents a remarkable turnaround from what they’ve been watching the last few years. A state of affairs that didn’t go unnoticed by Rams general manager Les Snead who, upon McVay coming aboard, set out to flip the wide receiver room and add some much-needed firepower and help for Goff.

The first order of business was pushing out the unreliable, which meant jettisoning veterans Kenny Britt and Brian Quick, two non-difference makers who came to embody the mediocrity that Rams wide receivers represented.

Woods was immediately targeted in free agency as an upgrade, and while he isn’t a dynamic speed burner who can take the top off a defense, he’s polished, reliable and accountable, and offers Goff the very important element of dependability. Woods has 12 catches and 186 yards this season.

Kupp, the rookie from Eastern Washington, provides many of the same qualities as Woods, along with an advanced understanding of route running and defensive pass coverages.

“He’s a different breed,” Snead said.

The record-breaking college receiver should have been off the board by the time the Rams picked in the third round. But his 4.7-second 40-yard dash time carried more weight than his production and obvious skill set, so there he was, much to the delight of the Rams.

Through four games he has 14 catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns.

Reynolds came next, getting drafted by the Rams in the fourth round out of Texas A&M. And while he’s much more raw than Kupp and won’t fully pay off until down the road, his lanky 6-4 frame, leaping ability and wide catch radius offers the Rams a downfield target and red zone threat who can go up and get the ball over smaller defensive backs.

He has only one catch – on a fake punt at that – but he’s worked his way into the mix, and as evidenced by the devastating block he delivered on Lewis, he’s figuring out ways to make an impact.

“Josh Reynolds is a guy that maybe hasn’t gotten a lot of reps, but I think you guys saw in the preseason, he got better and better,” McVay said. “We have a lot of confidence in him.”

The remake wasn’t complete until two weeks into training camp when the Rams pulled the trigger on a stunning trade for dynamic playmaker Sammy Watkins, who added the very element they were lacking: An explosive force capable of beating opponents from any point on the field, a speedster who could stretch a defense and an accountable presence able to draw defensive attention his way and create space for teammates to operate in as a result.

Upon learning he’d been traded to Los Angeles, Watkins sized up the roster and instinctively knew he represented the final piece.

“I can have fun and not put as much pressure on myself as I had done in the previous year,” Watkins said of coming to L.A. “I could play free.”

Watkins has 14 catches for 211 yards and two touchdowns. He’s one of four Rams with double-digit catches. The emerging passing game has also benefited the running game, with Gurley rushing for 362 yards and four touchdowns.

Not surprisingly, the Rams are leading the NFL in scoring while averaging 35.5 points per game.

“In our offense, everyone’s touching the ball all over the field,” Woods said. “Whether it’s downfield or one-yard flats. You just never know what you’re going to get. Like I said, you’ve got Todd running down the field now. And that’s the biggest thing. Defenses don’t know what’s coming next.”

Vincent Bonsignore is an NFL columnist for the Southern California News Group. Having covered the Los Angeles sports scene for more than two decades, Bonsignore has emerged as one of the leading voices on the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, the NFL and NFL relocation.

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